zucchini & leek vichyssoise

This is a recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris to which I have made a teensy alteration, simply because I think my stock was darker than Ina's and my potatoes weren't the white kind, so it didn't have that fresh, bright color I was looking for...so I cheated and added liquid sunshine instead. Also, if you - like me - are in the midst of detox or otherwise avoiding dairy, double up on the olive oil and skip the cream. I swear you won't notice a thing.

1 T unsalted butter
1 T good olive oil
5 c chopped leeks, white and light green parts (4-8 leeks - wash VERY well; soak and change water 2-3x)
4 c chopped unpeeled white boiling potatoes (8 small)
3 c chopped zucchini (2 zucchinis; unpeeled)
1 1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock (I love Pacific Organic)
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
2 T heavy cream (I used half and half and it was just fine)
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1-2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fresh chives or julienned zucchini, for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot, add the leeks and saute over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, zucchini, stock, salt and pepper; bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and either:

• process through a food mill fitted with the medium disc (Ina's way)
• blitz with a hand blender right in the pot (my way)
• process in small batches in the blender (careful not to fill more than 1/2 way; dangerous hot stuff expands in the blender)

Add the cream and adjust the seasonings. If you're looking for a brighter, summery-er flavor, add lemon. Zest the lemon directly into the pot, and squeeze in the lemon juice.

Serve hot or icy cold with chives or julienned zucchini threads across the top. If you have a bright, fruity olive oil (or chive oil or similar), give the top a little drizzle with this as well.

Green tip: don't be silly; this is a great way to deal with that insane garden bounty. I suspect you could cut some yellow squash in for some of the zucchini with great success although I haven't tried it.

oui oui! midsummer bounty

I've been feeling rather French lately. I blame the vegetables. And the weather. And Molly Wizenberg. And the fact that it's August and - let's face it - I'm wishing I was with Anna right now in Brittany, soaking in the sun, buying cute little French soaps and sea salt (Anna, please - for the love of god - please don't forget my salt) and enjoying a nightly apéro.

But mostly I think I can blame the vegetables. Between my first week of being a CSA member, my effusive love for my Farmer's Market and my darling mother's garden...well, let's just say that my produce cup runneth over. And over.

First up, ratatouille. My dear friend Anna actually turned me on to this delightful dish several years ago and I have proceeded to enjoy it yearly since. There's something very effortless about whacking up a bunch of seasonal veggies and turning them into a hearty stew-like dish...which, after sitting in the fridge waiting for me, only seems to get better and better. I had just the right ingredients from the market and mom's garden: zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, onion, garlic. I got some peppers and started rifling through cookbooks - here, at Barnes & Noble, everywhere - looking for ideas. I went back to my old standby: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything layered and baked number. On the first day, we enjoyed it with soft cooked polenta (his with cheese and butter, mine without...detox, afterall) and a crispy rosé. I plated up two little Apilco round au gratin dishes with leftovers, sent a bag with the chef to be turned into a stew the next day, and left the rest in the fridge for nibbling. The following morning, I drained the au gratin dish a bit, dug a couple of holes and cracked two eggs into the dish. Baked those at 350 for about 13ish minutes and I had the perfect breakfast. Of course, a toasted baguette would have been the preferred accompaniment but on the no-wheat adventure, I was happily surprised by simple corn tortilla chips stepping in and doing the job nicely.

Next task, leek soup. Or at least that's where I thought I was going with this. Only serving to exacerbate my little French problem, I also picked up the new-ish paperback version of French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, & Pleasure (Vintage) and remembered her original advice about leek soup. I think it was called "Magical Leek Soup," in fact. So I was thusly inspired. Checking out my cookbook collection - and considering the rest of my bounty - I aimed instead for a slight riff on Ina Garten's Zucchini Vichyssoise instead (from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home. Now THIS would be the answer to my late night, no energy for cooking question. This soup is meant to be eaten either hot or cold, and I'm guessing it will not be the first time this season it will be made. It's going gangbusters on the stove right now and will fill the lunch gap nicely.

Next up, addressing the lettuce situation. Every weekend I get this wild idea that I need salad. Lots of salad. So much salad that I might explode. And, of course, I buy salad greens. But my fridge is not a salad green-friendly location. In fact, it doesn't like much of anything that prefers to be crispy and sturdy. So I'm trying an experiment. About 3/5ths of my lettuce is just fine, 4+ days later. 1/5th is dead and headed for the compost. The remaining 1/5th seems salvageable; I'm soaking it in ice water to see if the shock will stiffen it up and make it lunch-ready. Feeling a little lousy about this, but I'm trying to recover. We'll see.

Lastly, I'm drooling over Molly Wizenberg. You may know her as that Orangette blog lady, or the writer of that great book A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table for which I waited patiently (ahem) from the library while 13 other people had holds on it, and the proceeded to buzz through it in 2 days. Now, I'm torn. I love almost every one of the recipes in there. Should I scan them for my collection, or should I bite the bullet and buy the book? (Those of you who know my book situation would probably calmly advocate for the former.) It's due tomorrow, I can't renew it (lots of others waiting in line) so I need to decide quickly. In the meantime, won't you check out her blog and, in particular, her index of recipes? She's a major Francophile - which shines through nicely in her recipes - and her husband is a vegetarian.

Because really, how much inspiration do you need this time of year? Gotta go, time to blitz the vichysoisse! Au revoir!

(Update: the soup was absolutely amazing - recipe coming later today - and the lettuce snapped to like good soliders. Successful lunch all around! Now, where's that baguette...sigh.)

Back at the beginning

I'm on another adventure...this time, dealing with my health and well-being. Not unlike many other women (and men, for that matter) I have hit a point in my life where I am starting to feel the cumulative effects of many years of eating well, sitting at a desk, traveling for business, not being active enough, and trying desperately to find some sort of equilibrium in my life.

Yep, that sounds just like life, right? And add to it, in the five years past I have earned a check mark for almost everyone of those “top stressors” in life: divorce, job loss/change, moving (three times), death of a parent and – not inconsequentially – working with a couple of the least well-balanced people imaginable. Stress: been there, done that, starred in the made-for-TV movie.

As a result, I’ve seen my weight go up rather dramatically. Ok, maybe it’s not dramatic to you, but an additional 20+ lbs – though I can wear it pretty well – puts me comfortably over the edge into “not so healthy land.” Further, as I’ve started to peel away the layers of what’s really doing damage here, I have also seen some of the baseline wellness checks coming back less than perfect. And did I mention that my pants don’t fit?!?

A little more than two years ago, suffering mightily with some new fangled allergies that I hadn’t experienced before, I decided enough was enough. (And by that I mean enough Minute Clinic visits for sinus infections and definitely ENOUGH ANTIBIOTICS – I’m allergic to most of the big ones and really want to keep my usage to dire conditions.) I decided to call on a naturopath.

My initial consultation was pretty unique. I am very much an alternative medicine/holistic approach sort of girl, so the idea of this kind of assessment, diagnosis and treatment appealed to me. After hearing all of my complaints (weight gain, stuffy allergy head, poor digestion, etc) and doing some rather unconventional assessments, the first thing she did was place me on a very serious detox plan. Suspecting food allergies, we set about eliminating anything and everything that was potentially allergenic and went from there. Result: definitely wheat, maybe dairy. My naturopath also suggested to me that a periodic detox (1-2 times per year) could help keep my system functioning better.

Results were great. I was already engaged in Weight Watchers and throughout the summer lost just over 20 lbs. I felt much better. And then life took hold yet again – a serious relationship ended, a crazy job began and then during the winter, my dad passed away quickly from an aggressive form of cancer. Before you knew it, the tenuous hold I had on my own health and wellness started slipping. Five pounds became 10. I struggled through some pretty serious blues. Nothing much felt good. Ten became 20 again. All in all, 2008 was really not good for me at all. I made a painful job change the end of the year and vowed to start 2009 in a better place.

And I did. But I still hadn’t put my hands around what EXACTLY needed to happen to bring me back around to healthy and well again. The weight was killing me. After I got myself back to my fighting weight the year before, I got rid of everything that was more than a size up. I just KNEW I would never go back there again. Yet, there is precisely where I found myself.

There has been one positive and changing force that has been woven throughout all of this, and that is my passion for food and being a bit greener. Together, those pieces of me have set me on a path toward awareness and excitement for the efforts around local and organic food, and about limiting the toxins in my life. As you may know, this is not about perfection. This is about a journey and I’m happy to say that I’m well into mine. Which has helped spring me forward…

…to a new space and time. I went back to the books and studied hard. I read Jillian Michaels’ new Master Your Metabolism. I re-read Dr. Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimum Health and Natural Health, Natural Medicine. I revisited Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Then I went to my doctor and had a few tests run to see just where I was at. Today? Total cholesterol is a little high, but good cholesterol is great (maybe to do with all that sushi?!); triglycerides are slightly elevated; alarmingly, blood sugar is also a little higher than it should be. And I’m still kicking around a virus that has been hanging with me since late last year. So I sat back, checked all my references and put myself back on track. Combining the learnings from these books about dealing with hormone levels (insulin and cortisol, anyone?), anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory diets with my already developed knowledge for the benefits of certain kinds of foods, along with my naturopath's suggestions, I’m off like a shot.

Here’s what’s happening:

• First, another detox. I’m spending about 3 weeks this time (as long as my supplemental powder holds out) cleaning out the stuff that’s bad. YET, I’m not being insane about it either. I am not chasing a food allergy this time, I’m just trying to give my liver and a couple of other vital organs a break. Key for me is the food choices, and limiting my wine. And those are: no caffeine, no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no meat other than fish. I’m keeping eggs this time and paying attention to the glycemic load of my fruits, veggies and rice.
• Daily exercise. We bought bikes a few weeks ago and have been enjoying trying to get out and about in our town. I’m also walking a day or two a week with friends, and as much as I can in the course of my day (it’s fab living downtown and being able to walk everywhere). And last weekend we even spent 2 hours paddling down the St. Croix in a canoe. I realized that – for me – it’s all about keeping it fresh and fun. I neeeeeed to be outside in this glorious late summer weather we’re having (it’s crazy) and I need to stay engaged and not get frustrated. We’ve signed up to do a little golf tournament next month. I’m just trying for 30-60 minutes of something or another each day.
  
• Supplements. This is where many people think I have gone ‘round the twist. But amping up my vitamins and supplements are important to my detox and also to the idea that I’m trying to kick my metabolism and immune system in the ass. I haven’t run on a healthy immune system since high school and therefore pick up and carry around every bug known to mankind. I need my immune system to rebound, shake off this virus and support me going forward. So yes, I choke down nearly 30 pills a day – everything from the standard multivitamin, fish oil, additional D, C, calcium to Astralagus and Lysine and a few other oddities. I’m also trying to take bitters again before meals…this one is less convenient but it sure is good for your digestion!
• Portioning. This is actually easy now. It’s just a decision. Eat half, add a salad.
• Cooking. I haven’t been spending quality time in my own kitchen for some time. Dating a chef means – unsurprisingly – that he doesn’t necessarily want to cook at home. He wants to go out! See what’s new! Try something different! All of which is very, very good but the by-product is that it has disconnected me from my kitchen. I’m back now.
• Shopping as local as possible. Most of you know that I’ve been helping Lee over at www.SimpleGoodandTasty.com and using that as a big fat excuse to avail myself of many more local delights than I was before. I’ve always been a HUGE farmer’s market fan and visit mine weekly. But I’ve also joined a co-op this year and taken a crack at a CSA for half the season. So I’m experimenting and feeling more inspired in my food choices.

I’m just one week in so far. I’ve lost 3 lbs. And I know my system is running – ahem – cleaner already. I’m almost through my caffeine/sugar withdrawal headaches, but feeling a little under the weather again. I know the allergens aren’t helping matters (must deal with those next), but I’m feeling like the tides are shifting.I’m in the groove now and I’m getting lots of support from those around me (much appreciated). Now we’ll just keep on in a forwardly direction to being a healthier, happier me.

Here's to wellness!